MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Professor of Emergency Medicine Ken Iserson recently wrote a book disclosing scary secrets of the medical world.

University doc pens scary book

Everyone thought Jack Kevorkian was bad, but next to the psychopathic doctors profiled in the new book "Demon Doctors: Physicians as Serial Killers" by UA Professor of Emergency Medicine Kenneth V. Iserson, Kevorkian looks like Santa Claus (an older, beardless version trained in euthanasia).

Although serial killers provide plenty of fodder for popular movies, books and news reports, very little serious research exists about serial killers in the medical profession.

The catalyst for the book was an article by a well-known forensic mythologist about deadly doctors, which Iserson found when he was researching another. Iserson, a doctor and professor at the University of Arizona for 20 years, decided to further explore the subject and write a book warning the public about the unseen dangers lurking in the shadows of the medical profession.

Beyond the sensationalism of subject matter, Iserson noted other functions of the book.

"It's an interesting way to read medical history," he said. "The methods the doctors used to kill victims reflects the practice of their times."

Indeed, he said, biowarfare agents are a far cry from Strychnine, or rat poison.

A brief shakedown of a few of the doctors portrayed in Iserson's book is enough to scare a cold virus away, or at least make a person avoid visiting the family physician for treatment.

A more recent case involved general practitioner Harold Shipman, convicted of his crimes in 2000. When making house calls, Shipman killed approximately 150 old ladies under the pretense of giving them "vitamin shots," which were actually hits of cocaine. Grandma was gone 30 seconds later.

Or, there is the appropriately named Dr. Linda Hazard, one of the few female-physician killers, who intentionally starved her patients and murdered her husband with Ricin, a biowarfare agent.

"I wouldn't want to be treated by any one of them," Iserson said.

Serial killers are not Iserson's normal beat. He typically works in the hospital teaching residences and medical students emergency medicine. On top of that, Iserson has written several books, both for the medical field and the public about medical education, medical ethics and death and dying. He also focuses on helping the living in his work as the medical director of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association.

If Iserson's book about nasty doctors functions as a warning, the follow-up question might be, "What does a person with a sickness or injury do to ensure that his or her care will be helpful instead of deadly?"

Iserson cited several checkpoints already established within the medical profession to snag bad apples before they get to the operating table. For example, the board of medical examiners and the hiring hospital are supposed to screen potential doctors. He also encouraged patients to check a doctor's credentials on the Web and use references from friends. Overall, he tends to trust his colleagues.

"You can only do what you can do," Iserson said. "Life isn't completely safe, but of all things in life, the quality of your physician is your best bet."

The release for "Demon Doctors: Physicians as Serial Killers" is slated for mid-May, but Iserson already has plans for a sequel: "Demonic Doctors: More Physicians and Serial Killers."

Apparently, his sources will never run dry, as several medical criminals are still on the loose, including, Iserson added, the brains behind Osama bin Laden: Egyptian doctor Ayman Al-Yaziri.